Tax critics advocate cutting funding for museum

Thursday

Apr 25, 2013 at 3:00 AM

A group representing local hotels, cabins and other accommodations has asked the Tourism Development Authority to discontinue funding for the county's Heritage Museum, part of its push to reduce the occupancy tax by 1 percent.

By Nathaniel AxtellTimes-News Staff Writer

A group representing local hotels, cabins and other accommodations has asked the Tourism Development Authority to discontinue funding of the county's Heritage Museum, part of its push to reduce the occupancy tax by 1 percent. The TDA held a public hearing on its proposed fiscal year 2013-14 budget Tuesday in the Visitors Center on Main Street. Board members deferred action on the $1.32 million budget until their next meeting June 4.Only one person spoke at the hearing. Kaye Caldwell, president of the Henderson County Accommodations Association, said her group is "extremely concerned by the continuing commitment of TDA funds" — $119,000 in 2013 — to run the museum in the Historic Courthouse in Hendersonville. This year, occupancy tax proceeds made up 87 percent of the museum's revenue, far exceeding the $12,000 generated by its gift shop. Caldwell said TDA funds must be used to promote travel and tourism or "tourism-related expenditures," and the museum doesn't meet either criteria, since it doesn't increase the use of county lodging or meeting facilities or attract tourists and business travelers. "It's a wonderful thing to have," Caldwell said after the meeting. "But it's not a tourist attraction. They should get their money from another source."Moreover, Caldwell said when commissioners approved a 1 percent increase in the occupancy tax in 2007, half was earmarked for the museum and half to improve facilities at the Visitors Center, which was expected to take five years."That time is now up, and with the exception of the new stage (for Music on Main), we believe renovations are complete," she said. "It is our opinion that the occupancy tax should therefore be reduced by that half percent, too."Room rentals countywide are still $1 million below what they were in the 12 months preceding the 2007 occupancy tax increase, Caldwell said, and Henderson County accommodations lag behind those in neighboring counties. She said the room tax rate does affect bookings."It's not all rich people who come and stay in Henderson County, and they do pay attention to it," Caldwell said. "When they come to stay for a weekend, they don't pay that much attention. But when they come to stay for a week, that's when they start paying attention. I can't tell you how many times people ask, ‘How much is the tax for the whole week?'"TDA board members did not address Caldwell's comments following the public hearing. But afterward, Chairman David Nicholson said TDA will sit down soon with the museum's board to discuss the room tax proceeds."When commissioners created the tax, they set aside half a percent for the Heritage Museum," he said. "Now we're a different organization and we'll be meeting with them (the museum board) to talk about what our legal requirements are, how we spend the money."The TDA replaced the county's former Travel and Tourism Committee, and gained control over how room tax proceeds are distributed under legislation passed last year by the General Assembly. That law also allowed commissioners to raise the room tax by 1 percent to benefit the Flat Rock Playhouse.The latter move stalled after the accommodations association and others opposed raising the room tax, and a "clean-up" bill now in the N.C. House sponsored by Rep. Chuck McGrady removes all reference to the Playhouse funding. The county's room tax remains at 5 percent, and a draft inter-local agreement between TDA and the county specifies that rate "will not be reduced" between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014. While the Heritage Museum was not designed to attract tourists, board members said Wednesday it does just that, from out-of-towners interested in visiting cemeteries where relatives are buried to Civil War buffs interested in Henderson County's role in the war between the states."There are so many people who plan vacations around historical museums," said Betsy Bright, a museum board member. But Board Chairman Carolyn Justus said the occupancy tax issue "is not our fight," since commissioners decided to bestow half a percent on the museum and the TDA now controls how proceeds are divvied up."It's just unfortunate that we got caught up in the debate over the occupancy tax," she said. Reach Axtell at (828) 694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.